Apparatus for article working



July 10, 1945 c, o. BLAISDELL APPARATUS FOR ARTICLE WORKING Filed J cm. 12. 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 wv A/Tae C 0. 5L fl/SDEL 1, 36444 KM HTTO/ENEY July 10, 1945. c. o. BLAISDELL APPARATUS FOR ARTICLE WORKING Filed Jan. 12, 19.43 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /N VE' N TOE CO. BAH/$05M 1,4 ,6 stu f ar ow/5v July 10, 1945. c. o. BLAISDELL 2,380,212

APPARATUS FOR ARTICLE WORKING Filed Jan. 12, 1943 s Sheets-Sheet s //v VEN TOE C. 62 5.: ms DELL Patented July 10, 1945 APPARATUS FOR ARTICLE WORKING Charles 0. Blaisdell, Oak Park, 111., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 12, 1948, Serial No. 472,174

8 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for article working and more particularly to an apparatus for spotting quartz crystals.

It is sometimes the practice to provide the quartz crystals used as frequency control devices in some types of electric apparatus with a spot of metallic paste such as silver paste prior to soldering in order to provide a suitable surface for the solder to adhere to. The quantity of paste to be used and the centering of the spot must be controlled with great accuracy. Because of the small size and fragility of the crystals sometimes used, some diiilculties may be experienced in properly spotting these crystals. Quartz crystals of this type are subject to variations in output and in frequency when exposed to dirt, or when touched by human hands, due to the fact that a certain amount of foreign matter is usually deposited thereby on the crystals.

An object of the present invention is to provide an efiicient and eilective apparatus for spotting quartz crystals.

In accordance with one embodiment of this invent'un, an apparatus may be provided for spotting crystals comprising a magazine for the crystals, a reciprocating slide for feeding crystals from the magazine to a pair of clamping jaws which are rotatably mounted to present successively both sides of a crystal to a spotting device,

and a stripping device to remove spotted crystals 80 from the slide.

Other objects of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a crystal spotting apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view along the line 2-2 of i 1;

Fig. 3 is a. sectional view along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing only the spotting mechanism;

r,fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a l c suitable bonding compound containing conducting material applied to either side to serve as an anchor whereby lead wires may be soldered to either side of the crystal.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, a reciprocable crystal transfer slide I0 is shown slidably positioned in a channel ll formed in an apparatus housing member l2. A vertically mounted, removable crystal magazine I3 is positioned above the slide I0 so as to supply crystals thereto and is supported on the sides of the member l2 by a flanged portion II which may be formed integrally with each magazine so as to position variously sized magazines on the apparatus. The lower portion of the magazine, when the magazine is in position on the housing member 12, extends to a point a short distance above the slide. Ordinarily this distance is approximately half the thickness of a crystal. Thus, as the lowest crystal is removed by the reciprocating slide ill, the crystal above the lowest crystal is prevented from moving forward by the sides of the magazine, and prevented from dropping by the upper surface of the portion of the slide l0 behind the removed crystal. At the same time, because of the separation between the surface of the slide and the lower end of the magazine, interference between the slide and thelower end of the magazine is avoided.

In practice, the crystals to be spotted are loaded in a magazine of suitable size at the completion of the etching operation, a suitable stop member being provided at the base of the magazine to retain crystals therein during the loading operation and the transfer to the spotting apparatus. It will be noted that the magazine I3 is so mounted with relation to the slide that a corner of a crystal, rather than a side, is presented to the center portion of the slide. This centers the crystal with respect to the slide and adapts the apparatus to receive crystals of various dimensions.

In order to feed the crystals from the magazine one at a time, the forward portion of the slide is recessed as shown in Fig. 2, to a depth slightly less than the thickness of a crystal, leaving'a shoulder IT. A square cornered notch 18 is formed in the center of the shoulder I I and is adapted to receive the rearwardly extending corners of the bottom crystal on the magazine. By engaging a corner of the crystal, which is a square, with the square notched recess ll, the crystal will be accuratelycentered on the slide.

The sides of the shoulder ll of the slide adjacent the notch I8 extend rearwardly forming an angle of approximately 90 degrees with the sides of the notch. This construction facilitates operation of the mechanism for stripping crystals from the slide at the completion of the spotting operation, as will be explained hereinafter. Means for reciprocating the slide are shown in Fig. 7 and comprise a cam 80 and lever mechanism operating in synchronism with the other parts of the apparatus, as will be explained. Such operation synchronizing devices are well known and form no part of the present invention.

After a crystal 2! has been positioned on the slide, the slide is moved forward to carry the crystal between a pair of clamping Jaws 2|. These Jaws may be formed integrally with the ends of a pair of shafts 22 which are reciprocably Journalled into rotatably mounted cylindrical members 2!. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, these shafts 22 are provided with keying members 24 in order to key them to the rotatable members 22, while at the same time permitting the shafts 22 to slide axially with respect to these members 22 to bring the clamping Jaws 2| together.

The cylindrical members 23 are rotatably mounted in a suitably formed housing 2!. A large pinion gear 2. is keyed to the end ofone of these members and a rack 21 is associated therewith to facilitate rotation of the Jaws through 180 degrees to present both sides of a crystal supported therebetween to a spotting device shown in Figs. 2, 3 and "I. A number of rods 28 fixed in both rotatable cylinders 22 and extending therebetween, lock the cylinders together and consequently maintain a fixed angular relation between the clamping Jaws 2| The alignment of the Jaws 2| must,,of course, be maintained within very close limits since it is highly desirable that the crystals be spotted at the precise center thereof in order to obtain maximum operating eillciency.

The Jaws 2| are moved together and apart by a pair of arms 28 which are operably attached to the outer ends of the shafts 22 through yokes 30 which may be formed integrally with the arms 29 and which engage pins 3| attached to split collars 32 which in turn are each positioned in an annular groove 33 formed at the outer end of each shaft 22, as shown in Fig. l. A pair of links 24 are pivotally attached to the free ends of the arms 29 and are in turn connected to a doubl crank 35 positioned approximately midway between the arms 29. The arms 28 are pivotally supported at a point between the shafts 22 and the links 24. One of the links 24 is attached t one side of the double crank 26 while the other link is attached to the other side. Thus, rotating the double crank 35 will either cause the links II to spread the arms 28 apart or to pull them closer together and, consequently, correspondingly to move the Jaws 2|.

Since this apparatus is intended to accommodate crystals of various sizes, the double crank 35 is not directly connected to its driving means but rather a resilient driving connection 82 may be employed so that if a large crystal is Dositioned between the Jaws. it will not be crushed, while on the other hand, if a small crystal is positioned therebetween, it will be firmly engaged and supported. The double crank 25 may be operated in timed relation to the operation of the slide Ill.

When the Jaws 2| have engaged a crystal, positioned therebetween by the slide Hi, the slide is withdrawn and the spotting device, comprising a vertically positioned spotting rod ll, mounted between two pairs of pivotally supported bracket arms 4| and 42, is then actuated to apply a spot of silver compound, or other similar metallic bonding material, to the underside of the crystal. The rod 40 is submerged beneath the surface of the compound, which is contained in a tank 43 mountedon a table it which supports this apparatus. When the upper pair of bracket arms 42, which are L-shaped, as shown in Fig. 2, are pivoted counter-clockwise, a rearwardly extending actuating rod ll being pivotally attached to the L-shaped upper portion thereof, the rod 40 is raised above the surface of the paste and into contact with the underside oi the crystal, depositing thereon an amount of bonding material determined by the shape of the contacting surface of the rod and the viscosity of the paste. By submerging the spotting apparatus in the compound, the spotting compound is constantly agitated and settling of the suspended materials largely avoided. However, if more agitation is reiuired, a small agitator ll, such as a solenoid operated paddle, might be provided.

When one side of the crystal has been provided with a spot of bonding material, the clamping laws are rotated through 180 degrees by actuating the rack 21, and the other side of the crystal is presented to the spotting device. The spotting device is then again actuated to apply a spot of paste to the crystal. After both sides of the crystal have been spotted, the slide II is again moved forward to engage the crystal, the clamping Jaws 2| being opened to release the spotted crystal as it is engaged by the slide. It will be noted that a groove ll is formed in the forward portion of the slide 0 and extends from the forward edge of the slide to the shoulder l1. Thus, when a spotted crystal is engaged by the slide, no portion of the slide touches the spot.

The slide continues to move forward to carry the crystal into engagement with'a stripping device comprising a pair of spring arms l0 mounted on a bracket ii and positioned above a conveyor belt 52. The bracket 5| is fixed to the table 44. As will be seen in Fig. 1, the forward portions of th spring arms 50 are bent sharply inwardly and then outwardly at an angle of approximatey degrees to the inwardly bent portion. Thus, as a crystal reaches the forward portion of the spring arms, the springs will be spread apart slightly by the forward movement of the cornerof the crystal which acts as a wedge and then, as the crystal is moved the inwardly bent portion, the spring arms will again move together and will engage the rear edges of the crystal. The portions of the shoulder l1 adjacent the notch |l in the slide Ill, as aforementioned, extend rearwardly at approximately right anges to the sides of the notch i8, thus avoiding interference with the ends of the springs 50.

After the spring arms 50 have engaged the rear edges of a crystal, the slide I0 is withdrawn and the retained crystal drops onto a conveyor belt 52 of suitable heat resistant material. A groove 52 is formed in the center of the belt to avoid contact of the belt with the spot on the lower side of the crystal, which may still be slightly wet. The belt passes around an idler drum 54 mounted on a shaft 55 iournalled into a bearing block 58, which is in turn mounted on the table 44, a driving drum (not shown) being positioned at the delivery end of an oven ll, shown. fragmentarily,;through which the belt passes. The conveyor/carries the spotted crystal through the oven 51. wherethe spots' are baked to the'deslred degree.

A better understanding of the apparatus may ratus or that it may be manually operated, the

various operations being performed in proper sequence by the operator. The drive as shown in Fig. (includes a cam shaft 85 connected. to a motor 86.

The slide it is moved to the position shown in Fig. to receive the lowermost crystal 20, then moved forward to position the crystal between the clamping jaws 2i. The clamping Jaws are moved together to engage and support the crystal and the slide is withdrawn a short distance. The spotting rod 40 is moved into enward, said shoulder being notched to engage gagement with the lower side of the crystal to deposit a spot of bonding material thereon by moving the rod 45 to the left, as shown in Fig. 2. The rod 45 is then moved to the right to the right to move the spotting rod out of engagement with the crystal and return it to the tank 43. The clamping Jaws 2| are rotated through 180 by actuating the rack 21 so as to present the other side of the crystal to the spotting rod 40. The spotting rod is again actuated to apply a spot of bonding material to the other side of the crystal, after which the slide I0 is moved forward to engage the crystal. The Jaws H are moved apart to release the crystal, which then rests on the slide Ill. The slide I0 is moved forward to carry the spotted crystal into engagement with the stripping device 50 and then moved back to the starting position to receive another crystal. This return movement of the slide causes the spotted crystal to, be removed therefrom and deposited on the conveyor which carries the crystal into the oven 51.

While but one embodiment of this invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

-1. In an apparatus for spotting quartz crystals, a magazine for holding a supply of crystals, clamping jaws for supporting a crystal in a position to receive a spot of material on one of its sides, a reciprocable slide for sequentially feed-' spotted crystal.

2. In an apparatus for spotting quartz crystals, a magazine for holding a supply of crystals,

' clamping Jaws for supporting a crystal in a predetermined position, a reciprocable slide associated with said magazine for feeding a crystal to said clamping Jaws. the forward portion of said slide being recessed to receive a crystal and to form a shoulder for carrying said crystal fora corner of said crystal to center said crystal with respect to the slide, and a groove insaid recessed portion to avoid contact of the slide with the center portion of a crystal. v r 3. In an apparatus for spotting quartz crystals, clamping Jaws for supporting a crystal in I position to receive a spot of material on one of its sides, means for sequentially feeding a crystal to said jaws and for feeding a spotted crystal from said jaws, means for applying spotting material to a crystal while it is supported by said clamping Jaws, means for rotating said jaws to present successively both sides of the crystal to said material applying means, a conveyor having a groove extending along the center portion of said conveyor to avoid contact of the conveyor with the spotting material on a crystal, and means for stripping a spotted crystal from said feeding means and for depositing it on said conveyor.

4. In an apparatus for spotting quartz crystals, a magazine for holding a supply of crystals, clamping Jaws for supporting a crystal in position to receive a spot of material on one of its sides, a reciprocable slide associated with said magazine for sequentially feeding a crystal to said clamping jaws and for feeding a spotted crystal from said jaws, the forwardportion of said slide being recessed to receive a crystal and to form a shoulder for carrying said crystal forward, said shoulder being notched to engage a corner of said crystal to center said crystal with respect to said slide, said recessed portion being slotted to avoid contact with the center portion of a crystal, a spotting device comprising a tank for containing spotting material, a spotting rod in said tank, pivotally mounted bracket arms for supporting said rod in said tank and for moving it into contact with a crystal while the crystal is supported by said clamping jaws, means for rotating said Jaws to present successively both sides of the crystal to said spotting device, a belt conveyor having a groove extending along the center portion of said conveyor to avoid contact of the conveyor with the spotting material on a crystal, and a stripping mechanism comprising a pair of spaced spring arms having their forward portions bent inwardly and then outwardly to receive and engage a crystal from the reciprocable slide and to deposit it on said conveyor.

5. In an apparatus for spotting quartz crystals, means for supporting a crystal in'position to receive a spot of material on one of its sides, means for feeding a crystal to said supporting means, reciprocating means for applying a quantity of material to a predetermined point on one side of a crystal while it is supported by said supporting means, and means for rotating said supporting means to present successively both sides of the crystal to said applying means.

6. In an apparatus for spotting quartz crystals, a magazine for holding a supply of crystals, clamping jaws for supporting a crystal in position to receive a spot of material on one of its sides, means for moving a crystal from the magazine into engagement with said jaws, means for actuating the Jaws to clamp the crystal, means actuated at a predetermined time for applying a spot of material to said crystal, and means for rotating said laws to present successively both sides of the crystal to said material applying means.

7. In an apparatus for spotting quartz crystale. a magazine holding a supply of the crystals, clamping Jaws for supporting a crystal in one position to receive a spot of material on.one or its sides, means for sequentially feeding a crysstal from said magazine to said Jaw and for feeding a spotted crystal from said Jaws, means actuated for applying a spot of material to said crystal after it is positioned by the Jaws. means for rotating said Jaws to present successively both sides of the crystal to said material applying means, and means for stripping a spotted crystal from said feeding means.

8. In an apparatus for spotting quartz crystals. a magazine for holding a supply of crystals,

assume clamping Jaws for supporting a crystal in position toreceive a spot of material on one of its sides, a reciprocabie slide beneath said magazine for feeding a crystal to said clamping Jaws, the forward portion oi said slide being recessed to receive a crystal and to form a shoulder for carrying said crystal forward, means for actuating the Jaws to clamp the crystal in a predetermined position, means for applying material to said crystal while it is supported by said clamping Jaws. and means for rotating said jaws to present successively both sides oi the crystal to said material applying means.

CHARLES O. BLAIBDELL.

CERTIFI GATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,580,212.

July 10, 191

CHARLES C BLAISDELL It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, sec-- 0nd column, line 56, after "moved" insert "beyond"; and'that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 25th day of December, A. D. 1914.5.

(Semi) Leslie Frazer First Assistant Commissioner of Patents. 

